FG threatens to revoke Ekiti federal varsity building contracts

It was gathered that the Inter-Ministerial Committee on Government Projects has threatened to revoke some contracts awarded at the Federal University, Oye Ekiti, in Ekiti State.

The committee issued the threat after inspecting some ongoing projects at the institution.

The team, led by the Deputy Director of Procurement in the Federal Ministry of Education, Mr. Musa Odiniya, particularly warned Tripod Nigeria Ltd. and Dumaco Best – the contractors handling the Central Administrative Block and the University Library projects, respectively.

The Vice-Chancellor of the university, Prof. Kayode Soremekun, who conducted the team round the project sites, expressed disappointment at the slow pace of work on the two projects.

He said, “The larger story is that some of the critical projects have been abandoned. The contractors handling the construction of the library and the Central Administrative Block have been lackadaisical.’’

Soremekun said that he stopped the payment of N50m to a contractor because there was nothing to show for the N23m he had earlier received.

“What is the guarantee that he will not abscond again? The effect is that Nigerian students will study with substandard facilities. If these structures were put in place, Nigerians would generate foreign exchange because people from other countries would enroll their children here.”

The VC blamed the attitude of the contractors on impunity within the system, saying, “Some people believe they can do things without consequences. I hope there would be consequences this time. The implication is that you are killing the future of Nigerian youths that are supposed to be using the facility.”

The committee noted that the contractors did not show that they had the funds to handle the job even after 85 percent payment to one of them.